MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025 earnings call. Erik Gershwind, Chief Executive Officer; Martina McIsaac, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Greg Clark, Interim Chief Financial Officer, are on the call with me today. During today's call, we will refer to various financial data in the earnings presentation and operational statistics documents, both of which can be found on our Investor Relations website. Let me reference our safe harbor statement found on slide 2 of the earnings presentation.

謝謝大家，早安。歡迎參加我們的 2025 財年第四季和財報電話會議。今天，執行長 Erik Gershwind、總裁兼營運長 Martina McIsaac 和臨時財務長 Greg Clark 都與我進行了通話。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考收益報告和營運統計文件中的各種財務數據，這些數據都可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。讓我參考一下收益報告第 2 張投影片上的安全港聲明。

Our comments on this call as well as the supplemental information we are providing on the website contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US securities laws. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these statements. Information about these risks are noted in our earnings press release and other SEC filings. Lastly, during this call, we may refer to certain adjusted financial results, which are non-GAAP measures. Please refer to the GAAP versus non-GAAP reconciliations in our presentation or on our website, which contain the reconciliations of the adjusted financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

我們對本次電話會議的評論以及我們在網站上提供的補充資訊包含美國證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與這些陳述預期的結果有重大差異。有關這些風險的資訊已在我們的收益新聞稿和其他 SEC 文件中註明。最後，在本次電話會議中，我們可能會參考某些調整後的財務結果，這些結果是非 GAAP 指標。請參閱我們的簡報或網站上的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 對賬，其中包含調整後的財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳。

I'll now turn the call over to Erik.

我現在將電話轉給埃里克。

Thank you, Ryan. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'll begin the call with some perspective on our recent performance and a view into our mission-critical path forward. I'll then offer some commentary on our end markets and overall economic conditions. Greg will cover our results for the fiscal year before passing it over to Martina to provide her perspective on our recent performance and our expectations for fiscal year 2026. I'll then wrap things up by providing some additional color on today's announcement regarding our upcoming leadership transition. As we turn the page on fiscal 2025, I'm encouraged by the progress that's happening inside of our company.

謝謝你，瑞安。大家早安，感謝大家今天加入我們。我將在電話會議開始時談談我們最近的表現以及我們未來的關鍵任務道路。然後我將對我們的終端市場和整體經濟狀況發表一些評論。格雷格將介紹我們本財年的業績，然後交給瑪蒂娜，讓她介紹我們最近的業績以及對 2026 財年的期望。最後，我將對今天宣布的有關我們即將進行的領導層過渡的消息進行一些補充說明。當我們翻開 2025 財年的新篇章時，公司內部所取得的進展令我感到鼓舞。

We entered the year with three top priorities, and those were to maintain momentum in our high-touch solutions, to reenergize our core customer and to optimize our cost to serve. We're making strides on all three fronts and are doing so in the face of an uncertain environment. While there is still plenty of work to be done, our recent progress is beginning to evidence itself in our financial performance as we return to daily sales growth, and we're poised for operating margin expansion once again. First, our high-touch solutions, including vending and implant, continue the strong track record that we've seen all year long.

進入新的一年，我們有三個首要任務，那就是保持高接觸解決方案的發展勢頭、重新激發核心客戶的活力以及優化我們的服務成本。我們在所有三個方面都取得了長足進步，而且是在不確定的環境下取得的。雖然還有很多工作要做，但隨著我們恢復每日銷售額成長，我們最近的進展已開始在我們的財務業績中得到體現，並且我們準備再次擴大營業利潤率。首先，我們的高接觸解決方案（包括自動販賣機和植入）延續了我們全年所見的強勁業績記錄。

Martina will provide more details shortly. Second, and most notably, we've begun to see our core customer average daily sales growth rate inflect and turn positive. As you recall, we launched four initiatives aimed at reenergizing our core customer base. And those were realigning our public-facing web pricing, which was completed during our fiscal 2024, upgrading our e-commerce experience, accelerating our marketing efforts and optimizing seller coverage.

瑪蒂娜將很快提供更多詳細資訊。其次，最值得注意的是，我們開始看到核心客戶的平均每日銷售額成長率轉變並轉為正值。大家還記得，我們​​推出了四項舉措，旨在重振我們的核心客戶群。這些包括重新調整我們面向公眾的網路定價，該定價已於 2024 財年完成，升級了我們的電子商務體驗，加快了我們的行銷並優化了賣家覆蓋範圍。

The largest milestones occurred at the end of our fiscal second quarter as we launched our upgraded website and our enhanced marketing efforts. Since that time, we've seen a steady improvement in core customer performance. Third, we've made progress in optimizing our cost to serve. We're on track with the supply chain productivity improvements that are yielding between $10 million to $15 million in annualized savings. We improved seller coverage and effectiveness by leveraging an enhanced data-driven territory model and tools that help reps more easily identify white space opportunity. And we have a growing pipeline of additional productivity programs that we expect to fuel more gains in fiscal 2026.

我們最大的里程碑發生在第二財季末，當時我們推出了升級的網站並加強了行銷。從那時起，我們看到核心客戶績效穩定提升。第三，我們在優化服務成本方面取得了進展。我們的供應鏈生產力改善工作進展順利，每年可節省 1,000 萬至 1,500 萬美元。我們利用增強的數據驅動區域模型和工具來幫助銷售代表更輕鬆地識別空白機會，從而提高了銷售人員的覆蓋範圍和效率。我們還有越來越多的額外生產力計劃，預計這些計劃將在 2026 財年帶來更多收益。

I'll now turn to the specifics of our fiscal fourth quarter on slide 4, where you can see average daily sales performed better than expected and improved 2.7% year over year. The return to growth in our core customer base, along with continued strength in the public sector, resulted in better-than-expected volumes and was the primary driver of the beat. Benefits from price came in as expected during the quarter, contributing 170 basis points to growth year over year and 90 basis points sequentially. As a reminder, we took a broad-based low single-digit pricing action towards the end of our fiscal June.

現在我將轉到投影片 4 上我們第四財季的具體情況，您可以看到平均每日銷售額表現優於預期，比去年同期成長 2.7%。我們核心客戶群的恢復成長，加上公部門的持續強勁，導致業務量優於預期，並成為推動業績成長的主要動力。本季價格效益如預期般顯現，年增 170 個基點，季增 90 個基點。提醒一下，我們在六月底採取了廣泛的低個位數定價行動。

That said, gross margin came in below our expectations at 40.4%, declining 60 basis points both year over year and sequentially. The primary driver here was tariff-driven purchase cost escalation, which came in faster and hotter than we expected during July and August. We also saw some other headwinds such as public sector-related customer mix. We have since taken action with pricing moves in the fiscal first quarter and have begun to see gross margins improve.

儘管如此，毛利率低於我們的預期，為 40.4%，年比和季比均下降 60 個基點。這裡的主要驅動因素是關稅驅動的採購成本上漲，其在 7 月和 8 月的速度和程度都超出了我們的預期。我們也看到了一些其他不利因素，例如與公共部門相關的客戶組合。我們在第一財季採取了價格調整措施，並開始看到毛利率提高。

Operating expenses in the quarter were approximately $306 million on a reported basis. And on an adjusted basis, operating expenses stepped up approximately $8 million year over year to $305 million for the quarter, but remained flat on a percentage of sales basis. The primary drivers of the year over year increase were driven by higher personnel-related costs and depreciation expense.

據報道，本季的營運費用約為 3.06 億美元。經調整後，本季營運費用年增約 800 萬美元，達到 3.05 億美元，但佔銷售額的百分比保持不變。年比成長的主要驅動因素是人員相關成本和折舊費用的增加。

Sequentially, adjusted operating expenses performed slightly ahead of expectations and declined approximately $6 million compared to the fiscal third quarter. Reported operating margin for the quarter was 8.6% compared to 9.5% in the prior year. An adjusted operating margin of 9.2% declined 70 basis points compared to the prior year.

調整後的營業費用較上季略高於預期，與第三財季相比下降了約 600 萬美元。本季報告的營業利潤率為 8.6%，而去年同期為 9.5%。調整後的營業利益率為 9.2%，較前一年下降 70 個基點。

This did, however, exceed the high end of our outlook by 20 basis points. We delivered GAAP EPS or earnings per share of $1.01 compared to $0.99 in the prior year's quarter. And we also saw year over year improvement on an adjusted basis. With EPS growing nearly 6%, coming in at $1.09 compared to $1.03 in the prior year.

但這確實超出了我們預期的高端20個基點。我們實現的 GAAP EPS 或每股盈餘為 1.01 美元，去年同期為 0.99 美元。我們也看到，調整後的數據較去年同期有所改善。每股收益成長近 6%，達到 1.09 美元，而去年同期為 1.03 美元。

The positive trend we saw in the fiscal fourth quarter has continued into the first couple of months of fiscal 2026 as our daily sales growth rate ticked up further to 5% in September, and it's we're expecting to grow between 4% and 5% in October despite impacts from the government shutdown. As we look ahead, we expect the step up in operating expense to moderate and productivity to build.

我們在第四財季看到的正面趨勢一直延續到 2026 財年的前幾個月，9 月我們的日銷售額成長率進一步上升至 5%，儘管受到政府關門的影響，我們預計 10 月的成長率將在 4% 至 5% 之間。展望未來，我們預期營運費用的成長將會放緩，生產力將會提高。

All of this positions us well in our efforts to restore profitable growth and operating margin expansion in fiscal 2026 and beyond. Turning to the environment. We characterize conditions as stable with some pockets of improvement, while the ongoing overhang of uncertainty remains. Tariffs have moved from a possibility to a reality as we're now experiencing meaningful price inflation across many areas of the business. Customers are generally understanding of price increases, as long as we provide sufficient transparency into tariff-related impacts. That said, the need to provide customers with offsetting cost savings measures is very real. And this plays well into our high-touch and technical value proposition.

所有這些都為我們在 2026 財年及以後恢復獲利成長和營業利潤率擴張的努力奠定了良好的基礎。轉向環境。我們認為情況穩定，有些改善，但不確定性仍然存在。由於我們現在在許多業務領域都經歷了顯著的價格上漲，關稅已從可能性變成了現實。只要我們對關稅相關影響提供足夠的透明度，客戶通常都會理解價格上漲。話雖如此，為客戶提供抵銷成本節約措施的需求是非常現實的。這與我們的高接觸和技術價值主張相得益彰。

Our suppliers are describing continued cost pressures on certain raw materials that are heavily China-based or influenced. And if this sustains, it could lead to further price inflation in the coming months. From an end market perspective, we've seen stabilization and even firming up in some of our larger verticals. Aerospace remains strong, while end markets such as heavy equipment and agriculture, which have been particularly weak over the past two years, or at least stabilizing. Some areas of acute softness do remain such as heavy truck.

我們的供應商表示，某些主要來自中國或受中國影響的原材料面臨持續的成本壓力。如果這種情況持續下去，可能會導致未來幾個月價格進一步上漲。從終端市場的角度來看，我們看到一些較大的垂直市場趨於穩定，甚至有所增強。航空航太業依然保持強勁，而重型設備和農業等終端市場在過去兩年中表現尤為疲軟，或至少正在趨於穩定。一些嚴重疲軟的領域確實仍然存在，例如重型卡車。

Looking at slide 5, I I'm encouraged to see how MSC is faring in this environment. Average daily sales in the quarter began to outpace the Industrial Production Index once again, supported by our improved customer performance and continued strength in the public sector.

看著投影片 5，我很高興看到 MSC 在這種環境下的表現。得益於客戶業績的提升和公共部門的持續強勁表現，本季日均銷售額再次超過工業生產指數。

With that, I'll now pass things over to Greg for an overview of our financial results for the fiscal year.

有了這些，我現在將把事情交給格雷格來概述我們本財年的財務表現。

Thank you, Eric. Good morning, everyone. Please turn to slide 6, where you can see key metrics for the fiscal year on both a reported and adjusted basis. Average daily sales declined 1.3% year over year primarily due to softer volumes in the first half of the fiscal year and the slight FX headwind. These headwinds were partially offset by positive price that contributed 60 basis points to growth and some carryover benefits from acquisitions in the prior year.

謝謝你，埃里克。大家早安。請翻到投影片 6，您可以看到報告和調整後的財政年度關鍵指標。平均每日銷售額年減 1.3%，主要原因是本財年上半年銷售下降以及輕微的外匯逆風。這些不利因素被正價格部分抵消，正價格為成長貢獻了 60 個基點，並且從上一年的收購中獲得了部分結轉收益。

Moving to profitability for the year. Gross margin of 40.8% contracted 40 basis points compared to the prior year due to negative price cost and customer mix. Operating expenses stepped up approximately $56 million and $55 million on an adjusted basis as expected. Combined with slightly lower sales, this resulted in a 190 basis point increase in adjusted operating expense as a percentage of sales. However, we exited the fiscal year with adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of sales performing in line with the prior year. Reported operating margin for the fiscal year was 8% compared to 10.2% in the prior year.

實現全年盈利。由於價格成本和客戶結構不佳，毛利率為 40.8%，較前一年下降 40 個基點。正如預期的那樣，營運費用增加了約 5,600 萬美元，調整後增加了 5,500 萬美元。加上銷售額略有下降，導致調整後的營業費用佔銷售額的百分比增加了 190 個基點。然而，在本財年結束時，我們調整後的營業費用佔銷售額的百分比與前一年持平。本財年的營業利益率為 8%，而前一年為 10.2%。

On an adjusted basis, operating margin declined 230 basis points compared to the prior year. Together, this resulted in GAAP EPS of $3.57 or $3.76 on an adjusted basis, compared to $4.58 and $4.81 in the prior year, respectively. Now let's turn to slide 7 to review our balance sheet and cash flow performance.

經調整後，營業利潤率較前一年下降 230 個基點。總體而言，這導致 GAAP EPS 為 3.57 美元或調整後 3.76 美元，而去年同期分別為 4.58 美元和 4.81 美元。現在讓我們翻到第 7 張投影片來回顧我們的資產負債表和現金流表現。

We continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet with net debt of approximately $430 million, representing roughly 1.1 times EBITDA, continue generating healthy cash flow in the quarter despite the increase in receivables through lifts and sales, we delivered free cash flow of $58 million during the fourth quarter, representing 104% of net income. This resulted in free cash flow conversion of 122% for the fiscal year ahead of our annual target.

我們繼續保持健康的資產負債表，淨債務約為 4.3 億美元，約為 EBITDA 的 1.1 倍，儘管透過電梯和銷售導致應收帳款增加，但本季繼續產生健康的現金流，我們在第四季度實現了 5,800 萬美元的自由現金流，佔淨收入的 104%。這使得本財年的自由現金流轉換率達到 122%，超出了我們的年度目標。

Turning to capital allocation on slide 8. Our highest priorities remain organic investment to fuel growth and advancing operational efficiencies across the business. Returning capital to shareholders also remains a priority. We purchased approximately 496,000 shares throughout the year. Combined with our quarterly dividend, which we increased by approximately 2% this month, we returned $229 million to shareholders in the fiscal year.

前往投影片 8 上的資本配置。我們的首要任務仍然是透過有機投資來推動成長並提高整個業務的營運效率。向股東返還資本仍是我們的首要任務。我們全年購買了約 496,000 股。加上本月增加約 2% 的季度股息，我們在本財年向股東返還了 2.29 億美元。

I will now turn the call over to Martina for a deeper dive into our quarterly performance and expectations for the new fiscal year.

現在我將把電話交給 Martina，讓她更深入地探討我們的季度業績和新財年的預期。

Thank you, Greg, and good morning, everyone. Turning to slide 9. We're encouraged by our daily sales trend that continues to improve across all customer types. During the fiscal fourth quarter, we were most pleased by the return to growth of the core customer with daily sales improving 4.1% year over year, driven by both price and volume. National Accounts declined 0.7% year over year.

謝謝你，格雷格，大家早安。翻到第 9 張投影片。我們對所有客戶類型的日常銷售趨勢持續改善感到鼓舞。在第四財季，我們最高興的是核心客戶的恢復成長，在價格和銷售的推動下，每日銷售額年增 4.1%。國民帳戶年減0.7%。

This customer base continues to see a greater impact from the macro environment as only 44 of our top 100 customers showed growth in the quarter. However, on a sequential basis, national accounts performed in line with core customers and improved a little more than 1%. And Public sector continued its strong trend in the quarter with daily sales growth of 8.5% year over year and 10% sequentially. While this business has been impacted by the government shutdown, with sales growth turning negative in October compared to up low double digits in September, we view this as temporary.

該客戶群繼續受到宏觀環境的較大影響，因為我們的前 100 名客戶中只有 44 名在本季度實現了成長。然而，以環比計算，國民帳戶的表現與核心客戶一致，並且提高了 1% 多一點。公部門在本季延續了強勁的趨勢，每日銷售額年增 8.5%，季增 10%。雖然該業務受到了政府關門的影響，10 月份銷售額增長轉為負值，而 9 月份則實現了兩位數的低增長，但我們認為這只是暫時的。

Let's now dig a little deeper by looking at some of the key initiatives and KPIs supporting the daily sales improvement in the quarter on slide 10. First, I continue to be pleased by the ongoing expansion of our solutions footprint. Our installed vending count grew 10% year over year or 3% sequentially to more than 29,600 machines. Average daily sales in the quarter for vending were also up 10% year over year and represented approximately 19% of total company sales. With respect to implants, our program counts at 411 expanded 20% year over year and grew 3% sequentially. Daily sales from customers with an implant program grew 11% year over year and represented approximately 20% of total company sales.

現在讓我們更深入地了解第 10 張投影片中支持本季每日銷售額成長的一些關鍵舉措和關鍵績效指標 (KPI)。首先，我對我們的解決方案覆蓋範圍的不斷擴大感到高興。我們安裝的自動販賣機數量年增 10%，較上季成長 3%，達到 29,600 多台。本季自動販賣機的每日平均銷售額也比去年同期成長了 10%，約占公司總銷售額的 19%。就植入物而言，我們的項目數量為 411 個，年增 20%，較上季增加 3%。接受植入計畫的客戶的每日銷售額年增 11%，約占公司總銷售額的 20%。

Improvements to our core customer growth rate have been driven by several programs, which Erik mentioned earlier. The first is sales territory optimization. Moving to the middle of the slide, you can see the increase in coverage effectiveness, which enables us to be more present at customer sites. The number of customer location touches locked by field sales were up double digits year over year and mid-single digits sequentially.

正如 Erik 之前提到的，我們核心客戶成長率的提高是由幾個專案推動的。首先是銷售區域優化。移到投影片中間，您可以看到覆蓋效率的提高，這使我們能夠更多地出現在客戶現場。透過現場銷售鎖定的客戶位置接觸數量比去年同期增長了兩位數，環比增長了中個位數。

This increase was achieved with fewer sellers illustrating the potential that still lies in our sales effectiveness efforts. As we have shared, we've also invested in website upgrades and enhanced marketing efforts to restore core customer growth. In the fourth quarter, average daily sales on the web turned positive year over year with growth in the low single-digit range. We experienced similar improvements in the trend of certain KPIs such as direct traffic to the web and conversion rates of our top channels.

這一增長是在賣家數量減少的情況下實現的，這表明我們的銷售效率努力仍有潛力。正如我們所分享的，我們還投資了網站升級和加強行銷力度，以恢復核心客戶成長。第四季度，網路日均銷售額較去年同期轉正，增幅維持在低個位數。我們在某些​​關鍵績效指標 (KPI) 的趨勢上也經歷了類似的改善，例如網路直接流量和頂級管道的轉換率。

Our streamlined checkout experience drove declining abandonment rates in the quarter and enhancement to the search function of our site also started showing early positive signs. The percentage of users adding to cart within the first zero to five minutes, improved in the low single-digit range, giving us confidence that users are finding what they're looking for more efficiently. Before I move past our quarterly results, I would like to spend a few moments on gross margin. Q4 gross margins came in about 50 basis points lower than our expectations.

我們簡化的結帳體驗推動了本季放棄率的下降，我們網站搜尋功能的增強也開始顯示出早期的正面跡象。在最初的零到五分鐘內加入購物車的用戶百分比提高了個位數，這讓我們相信用戶能夠更有效率地找到他們想要的東西。在介紹我們的季度業績之前，我想花一點時間討論一下毛利率。第四季的毛利率比我們的預期低了約 50 個基點。

20 basis points of the miss can be attributed to mix and other factors. 30 basis points of the miss was due to price cost. While our price realization performed as planned, cost realization did not. A combination of a rapid surge in the number of supplier increases, compressed supplier notification period, higher sales volume and a greater mix of direct ship orders all led to higher cost realization than planned during the quarter.

其中 20 個基點的未達標可歸因於產品組合和其他因素。其中 30 個基點的未達標是由於價格成本。雖然我們的價格實現按計劃進行，但成本實現卻沒有。供應商數量激增、供應商通知期縮短、銷售量增加以及直接發貨訂單組合增加等因素導致本季成本高於計劃。

In response, we've made further pricing moves during the fiscal first quarter and are seeing gross margins improve off of 4Q levels. Before we get into our outlook, I want to highlight some exciting changes made to the leadership team that will strengthen our commitment to growth and the customer experience. You turn to slide 11. We First, we welcome -- to MSC as our new SVP of Sales. -- brings two decades of engineering and field sales management experience from her time at Hilti with a proven track record of consistently delivering above market growth.

作為回應，我們在第一財季進一步調整了價格，毛利率較第四季有所提高。在我們討論展望之前，我想強調領導團隊的一些令人興奮的變化，這些變化將加強我們對成長和客戶體驗的承諾。翻到第 11 張投影片。首先，我們歡迎—加入 MSC 擔任我們的新任銷售資深副總裁。 ——她在 Hilti 工作期間擁有二十年的工程和現場銷售管理經驗，並擁有持續實現高於市場成長的良好記錄。

In this role, she will build on the progress made by MSC towards sales excellence. With Gida's arrival, Kim -- will be taking on the newly created role of SVP customer experience. Leveraging Kim's 30 years in the industry, this new team will be dedicated to ensuring that every interaction a customer has with a is seamless and memorable, driving customer retention and share of wallet growth. I would like to congratulate both -- and Kim on their new roles and look forward to sharing their future success.

在這個職位上，她將在 MSC 取得的進步的基礎上繼續努力，實現卓越的銷售業績。隨著 Gida 的到來，Kim 將擔任新設立的客戶體驗資深副總裁。憑藉 Kim 30 年的行業經驗，新團隊將致力於確保客戶與客戶的每一次互動都是無縫且令人難忘的，從而推動客戶保留和錢包份額的成長。我要祝賀他們兩人以及金擔任的新職務，並期待分享他們未來的成功。

As for the rest of the management team, John Reichelt is settling in his role as Chief Information Officer. He and the team continue making progress on the evaluation of our systems design. And lastly, our search for a permanent CFO is underway, and we have begun discussions with both internal and external candidates and hope to fill the role in the next quarter or 2. Let's now move on to our expectations for fiscal '26 by starting with our outlook for the fiscal first quarter on slide 12.

至於管理團隊的其他成員，約翰·雷切爾特 (John Reichelt) 正在擔任首席資訊長一職。他和團隊在評估我們的系統設計方面繼續取得進展。最後，我們正在尋找一位永久的財務官，我們已經開始與內部和外部候選人進行討論，並希望在下一季或第二季填補該職位。現在讓我們從投影片 12 上對第一財季的展望開始，討論我們對 26 財年的預期。

We expect average daily sales to grow 3.5% to 4.5% year over year. The lower end of the range assumes the government shut down less through the remainder of the quarter, whereas the higher end of the range assumes that the shutdown ends before the end of our fiscal quarter. Our expected range also takes into consideration quarter-to-date sales with September up 5.1% and October trending towards 4% to 5% growth. As a reminder, we returned to growth last fiscal November, making it our toughest comparison to the prior year for the fiscal first quarter.

我們預計日均銷售額將年增 3.5% 至 4.5%。該範圍的低端假設政府在本季剩餘時間內關閉的時間較少，而該範圍的高端假設政府關閉在本財政季度結束前結束。我們的預期範圍也考慮了本季迄今的銷售額，其中 9 月成長 5.1%，10 月成長趨勢為 4% 至 5%。提醒一下，我們在去年 11 月的財年中恢復了成長，這使得我們今年第一季的財年與去年同期的比較變得最為艱難。

We expect adjusted operating margin to fall within the range of 8.0% to 8.6%, which takes into consideration the following: gross margin to improve from 4Q levels, and to be 40.7%, plus or minus 20 basis points and an increase in adjusted operating expenses compared to the fiscal fourth quarter of approximately $7 million to $10 million primarily driven by an annual step-up in depreciation and amortization from fiscal year '25 to fiscal year '26, a step-up in incentive compensation expense, one month of the merit increase and an increase in marketing investment, partially mitigated by continued productivity.

我們預計調整後的營業利潤率將在 8.0% 至 8.6% 之間，其中考慮了以下因素：毛利率較第四季度有所提高，達到 40.7%，上下浮動 20 個基點；調整後的營業費用較上一財年第四季度增加約 700 萬美元至 1000 萬美元，這主要歸因於 25 財年從 256 年到 256 年收入財年折舊和攤銷的逐年增加、激勵性薪酬費用的增加、一個月的績效工資增加以及行銷投資的增加，但生產力的持續提高部分抵消了這些影響。

The increased marketing investments are the result of the progress we're seeing in our core customer and are all directed towards high-return areas of our accelerated marketing program. Turning to slide 13 for our expectations of certain line items for the full year. We expect depreciation and amortization costs to be roughly $95 million to $100 million, representing a year over year increase of approximately $5 million to $10 million.

增加行銷投資是我們在核心客戶中看到的進步的結果，並且全部用於我們加速行銷計劃的高回報領域。翻到第 13 張投影片，了解我們對全年某些項目的預期。我們預計折舊和攤提成本約為 9,500 萬至 1 億美元，年增約 500 萬至 1,000 萬美元。

This largely reflects carryover from the investments made in technological and digital capabilities as well as continued growth in vending. Other underlying assumptions include interest and other expense of roughly $35 million, capital expenditures of $100 million to $110 million and a tax rate between 24.5% and 25.5%. Free cash flow is expected to be approximately 90% of net income. And lower than the previous year, driven by working capital needs to support top line growth.

這在很大程度上反映了對技術和數位能力的投資以及自動販賣機的持續成長。其他基本假設包括約 3,500 萬美元的利息和其他費用、1 億至 1.1 億美元的資本支出以及 24.5% 至 25.5% 之間的稅率。預計自由現金流約佔淨收入的90%。低於上一年，原因是需要營運資本來支持營業額成長。

To assist in modeling the cadence of sales for the remainder of the fiscal year, the bottom of the slide provides historical quarter over quarter averages and key considerations for the second quarter and the back half of the fiscal year. And lastly, we have one extra business day year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter, as shown at the bottom of the chart. Looking beyond the fiscal first quarter, we expect incremental margins of approximately 20% at mid-single-digit revenue growth as gross margin restores to expected levels as we exit the fiscal first quarter and the benefits of our productivity initiatives build through the fiscal year.

為了幫助模擬本財政年度剩餘時間的銷售節奏，幻燈片底部提供了歷史季度平均值以及第二季度和本財政年度後半年的關鍵考慮因素。最後，如圖表底部所示，第四財季的工作日比去年同期增加了一個。展望第一財季之後，我們預計隨著第一財季的結束，毛利率將恢復到預期水平，並且我們的生產力舉措的效益將在整個財年中不斷積累，因此，我們預計利潤率增量將達到約 20%，收入增長率將達到中等個位數。

And with that, I will now turn the call back over to Erik for closing remarks before we get into Q&A.

好了，現在，在我們進入問答環節之前，我將把電話轉回給埃里克，請他做結束語。

Thank you, Martina. I'd like to close out the call on a more personal note. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as MSC's leader for the last 1.5 decades. And while I'm stepping away from day-to-day leadership, I will continue to serve MSC as Non-Executive Vice Chair of the Board. As I prepare to transition I've taken some time to reflect on my 30-year history at MSC.

謝謝你，瑪蒂娜。我想以更私人的話題來結束這通通話。過去 15 年來，能夠擔任 MSC 的領導者是我的榮幸。雖然我將不再負責日常領導工作，但我將繼續擔任 MSC 董事會非執行副主席。在準備過渡時，我花了一些時間回顧我在 MSC 的 30 年歷史。

Working alongside such an exceptional team has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. We have, together, grown and transformed this company from a traditional spot by distributor into the trusted mission-critical adviser and industry leader that you see today. Most importantly, we achieved this while living up to the values set forth by my grandfather, when he began selling cutting tools from the trunk of his car all the way back in 1941.

與這樣傑出的團隊一起工作是我職業生涯中最大的榮幸之一。我們共同努力，將這家公司從傳統的經銷商發展成為您今天看到的值得信賴的關鍵任務顧問和行業領導者。最重要的是，我們在實現這一目標的同時，實踐了我祖父樹立的價值觀，早在 1941 年，他就開始在他的汽車後備箱裡銷售切削工具。

Succession planning and leadership development have been pillars of MSC's values since its inception over eight decades ago. Leaders are chosen carefully, and they're thoughtfully developed over time. Like my grandfather, like Mitchell and David before me, one of my most important responsibilities is developing our next leader and then stepping aside when that person is ready. And so it is with great pleasure that I hand the baton to Martina who will succeed me as MSC's fifth CEO.

自八十多年前成立以來，繼任計畫和領導力發展一直是 MSC 價值觀的支柱。領導者都是經過精心挑選的，並且經過長時間的深思熟慮後才得以培養。就像我的祖父、我的前輩米切爾和大衛一樣，我最重要的職責之一就是培養我們的下一任領導者，然後在這個人準備好時讓位。因此，我非常高興地將接力棒交給 Martina，她將接替我擔任 MSC 的第五任執行長。

As you all know, Martina has been with MSC for over three years, and she knows every operational corner of the company. We've worked hand-in-hand during a critical phase at MSC, and she's been instrumental in shaping our operational improvements and our strategic growth initiatives. The board and I have the utmost confidence in her and we look forward to seeing her build on the momentum that's seen in our recent results and to provide a very bright future for MSC. I'd like to thank everyone on the call for your friendship and your support over the years. It's been a pleasure working with each and every one of you.

眾所周知，Martina 在 MSC 工作了三年多，她了解公司營運的每個角落。在 MSC 的關鍵階段，我們攜手合作，她在我們的營運改善和策略成長計畫的製定中發揮了重要作用。董事會和我都對她充滿信心，我們期待看到她延續我們近期業績的良好勢頭，為 MSC 創造一個非常光明的未來。我要感謝電話會議中各位多年來的友誼和支持。我很高興能與你們每一個人一起工作。

Martina, I'm going to turn it back over to you to close the call.

瑪蒂娜，我要把發言權交還給你，結束本次通話。

Thanks, Erik. First and foremost, on behalf of all of us at MSC, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your extraordinary leadership and the lasting impact you've had on the company. Over our nearly 30 years here, you've guided us through remarkable growth in transformation. And Erik, your leadership means a great deal to all of us. It has shaped the company we are today. Personally, I would also like to thank you and our Board of Directors for your confidence in me and for this opportunity to continue driving MSC's growth and operational performance.

謝謝，埃里克。首先，我謹代表 MSC 全體員工，對您卓越的領導能力以及您對公司產生的持久影響表示感謝。在我們在這裡的近30年裡，您帶領我們實現了顯著的轉型成長。艾瑞克，你的領導對我們所有人來說都意義重大。它塑造了我們今天的公司。就我個人而言，我還要感謝您和我們的董事會對我的信任，並給予我這個繼續推動 MSC 成長和營運績效的機會。

During my time leading our day-to-day operations for the past three years, I've been deeply engaged listening to our associates, our customers, our suppliers and our shareholders and this has helped shape the strategic initiatives, which are starting to be reflected in our results today.

在過去三年領導日常營運期間，我一直積極傾聽我們的同事、客戶、供應商和股東的意見，這有助於制定策略舉措，這些舉措已開始反映在我們今天的業績中。

With these building blocks and a strong leadership team now largely in place MSC is set to achieve new levels of growth and further strengthen its leadership position. I could not have asked for a better opportunity. As I look ahead and prepared to step into the CEO role on January 1, our focus will be on value creation, maintaining our recent growth momentum and delivering a balanced capital allocation strategy. all while living up to our core values.

憑藉這些基石和強大的領導團隊，MSC 將實現新的成長水準並進一步鞏固其領導地位。我不可能要求得到更好的機會了。當我展望未來並準備在 1 月 1 日接任執行長一職時，我們的重點將放在創造價值、維持近期的成長動能和提供均衡的資本配置策略上，同時實踐我們的核心價值。

I believe this is possible by turning our attention to three key areas. First, we must harness the incredible commitment of MSC's talented associates to strengthen our culture. We want to raise our own expectations and inspire curiosity, self-responsibility and a spirit of continuous improvement. Second, we must build on the momentum from the initiatives that have resulted in a return to growth you see today. We do this by executing on our recent organizational changes to drive disciplined sales excellence and a relentless commitment to customer experience.

我相信，只要我們將注意力轉向三個關鍵領域，就能實現這個目標。首先，我們必須利用 MSC 優秀員工的非凡奉獻精神來加強我們的文化。我們希望提高自己的期望，激發好奇心、自我責任感和不斷進步的精神。第二，我們必須鞏固已帶來今天經濟恢復成長的措施的動能。我們透過執行最近的組織變革來實現這一目標，以推動嚴格的卓越銷售和對客戶體驗的不懈承諾。

And third, MSC needs to deliver on its commitment. We must bring productivity and consistency to our everyday work and use data to drive speed and accountability through our operating system. I could not be more excited to step into this role, and I look forward to building stronger relationships with everyone on today's call.

第三，MSC 需要履行其承諾。我們必須為日常工作帶來生產力和一致性，並利用數據透過我們的作業系統來提高速度和責任感。我非常高興能夠擔任這個職務，並期待在今天的電話會議上與大家建立更牢固的關係。

And with that, please open the line for questions.

現在，請打開提問專線。

(Operator Instructions) Ryan Merkel, William Blair.

（操作員指示）瑞安·默克爾、威廉·布萊爾。

Thanks, good morning. And great to see the inflection in the business and, of course, to Erik and Martina congrats on the new roles. My first question is just on gross margin, the 30 basis points of the negative price cost. I don't recall ever hearing Erik, a surge in supplier price increases and costs working through the P&L sort of faster.

謝謝，早安。很高興看到業務的轉變，當然，也恭喜 Erik 和 Martina 獲得新職位。我的第一個問題是關於毛利率，也就是負價格成本的 30 個基點。我不記得曾經聽過艾瑞克說過，供應商價格上漲和成本在損益表中的體現速度會更快。

Can you talk about what sort of happened there? And then how you addressed it. It sounds like you raised prices a bit more.

你能談談那裡發生了什麼事嗎？然後你如何解決這個問題。聽起來你們的價格又提高了一點。

Yes, Ryan, so I'll start, and then I'll turn it over to Martina just to provide some historic context. You are correct that this is unusual. And obviously, you and I together have seen in this industry a lot of inflation cycles. This one was has been a fairly unique we look back, the concentration of increases that we saw really in a very short window of time was unusual, even unusual relative to a post-covid inflation period, which had also been historic.

是的，瑞安，我先開始，然後我會把它交給瑪蒂娜，只是為了提供一些歷史背景。您說得對，這確實不尋常。顯然，你和我都見證了這個行業的許多通貨膨脹週期。回顧過去，這是一次相當獨特的經歷，我們在很短的時間內看到的通膨集中度是不尋常的，甚至相對於後疫情時代的通膨時期也是不尋常的，而後疫情時代的通膨時期也是歷史性的。

So I do think it's played out a little differently from prior cycles. I'm going to turn it over to Martina to talk about how we're handling that, and we're encouraged about what we're seeing in a bounce back in Q1.

所以我確實認為它與之前的周期略有不同。我將把這個任務交給 Martina 來談談我們是如何處理這個問題的，我們對第一季的反彈感到鼓舞。

But I'll let Martina talk in a little more detail.

但我會讓 Martina 更詳細地講一下。

Yes. So Ryan, the 30 basis points, I was price behaved exactly as we expected. We were very pleased with the work that our team did. Price contributed 170 basis points right on our forecast, and we were able to work with customers. I think you heard in Erik's prepared remarks, customers are understanding of what we're doing and why we're doing and we're helping them navigate a very uncertain time. Cost, to give you a little bit of context of what Erik just said, we took a price increase at the end of June.

是的。所以瑞安，30 個基點，我認為價格表現就像我們預期的那樣。我們對團隊所做的工作非常滿意。價格正好符合我們的預測，貢獻了 170 個基點，我們能夠與客戶合作。我想你們在艾瑞克準備好的演講中聽到了，客戶理解我們在做什麼以及為什麼這樣做，我們正在幫助他們度過一個非常不確定的時期。成本，為了讓你稍微了解一下艾瑞克剛才所說的內容，我們在六月底提高了價格。

So sort of between mid-June when we lock that increase in the end of August, in those weeks, we took more inflation than we took in nine months post COVID in 2022. So that kind of gives you a feeling for scale. And it was both the number of increases, the changes in these increases, the changes in supplier behavior compressed lead times. So we amassed this amount of inflation in the business, and we had committed to pricing stability, so we did not plan to take another increase until Q1.

因此，從 6 月中旬到 8 月底我們鎖定成長幅度的幾週內，我們的通膨水準超過了 2022 年新冠疫情爆發後九個月的通膨水準。這能給你一種規模感。無論是數量增加、數量增加的變化，或是供應商行為的變化，都壓縮了交貨時間。因此，我們在業務中累積瞭如此多的通貨膨脹，並且我們致力於價格穩定，所以我們計劃在第一季之前不再次加價。

So we didn't react and we have now since taken, I think, the right actions in Q1 gross margin is restoring. We headed into the quarter with a headwind on price cost. We will exit the quarter in a much better position. And I think we have taking a hard look at our processes. When you think about where we want to take the company, I think good, we're happy with the accountability and the way our team reacted in September. But this is a great example of where our operating system where we could have where we need increased visibility because we would have taken more price in the quarter.

所以我們沒有做出反應，現在我們已經採取了正確的行動，我認為第一季的毛利率正在恢復。我們在本季遭遇了價格成本的不利影響。我們將以更好的狀態結束本季。我認為我們已經認真審視了我們的流程。當你思考我們想要帶領公司走向何方時，我認為很好，我們對責任制以及我們團隊在九月的反應方式感到滿意。但這是一個很好的例子，說明我們的作業系統可以提高可見性，因為我們將在本季獲得更高的價格。

Got it. Okay. Very helpful. And then for my follow-up, I heard you say mid-single-digit revenue growth was achievable this year if you just use the sequential and then 20% incremental margins. So that's great to hear. On the 20% incremental margins, I know you're not giving specific guidance, but are you expecting to have gross margins sort of up year over year given initiatives and then SG&A as a percent of sales, do you think that you can work that down year over year because you talked about some productivity and then maybe leveling off of the cost increases. So a little more color there on what your expectations would be helpful.

知道了。好的。非常有幫助。然後，作為我的後續問題，我聽到您說，如果僅使用連續的利潤率和 20% 的增量利潤率，今年就可以實現中等個位數的收入成長。聽到這個消息我非常高興。關於 20% 的增量利潤率，我知道您沒有給出具體的指導，但考慮到各項舉措以及銷售、一般及行政費用佔銷售額的百分比，您是否預計毛利率會逐年上升，您是否認為您可以逐年下降，因為您談到了一些生產力，然後也許會穩定成本增長。因此，對您的期望進行更詳細的說明將會很有幫助。

Yes. So let's start with gross margin. I think we've taken the price increase actions now in the first quarter. We expect to be price cost stable over the cycle and stable through the rest of the year. I think, obviously, our best opportunity is to accelerate growth and leverage our cost structure, but we do have a very healthy pipeline of productivity projects that will continue to build through the year. And so we're looking we're expecting incremental margins in the teens in the first quarter, and we expect that to build through the year.

是的。那麼就讓我們先從毛利率開始吧。我認為我們在第一季就已經採取了提價措施。我們預計價格成本在整個週期中將保持穩定，並在今年剩餘時間內保持穩定。我認為，顯然，我們最好的機會是加速成長並利用我們的成本結構，但我們確實擁有非常健康的生產力項目管道，這些項目將在今年繼續建造。因此，我們預計第一季的利潤率將增加十幾個百分點，並且我們預計這一成長趨勢將持續到全年。

And Ryan, just to give a little bit more perspective on that incremental margin commentary, if you look at where we ended up at the fiscal year and at a mid-single-digit growth assume gross margins stay stable. It implies roughly a $30 million to $40 million step up in OpEx. We feel pretty comfortable achieving that where the business currently sits today.

瑞安，為了對增量利潤率的評論提供更多的看法，如果你看看我們在本財年的最終表現，並假設毛利率保持穩定，那麼中等個位數的增長。這意味著營運支出將增加約 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元。就目前的業務狀況而言，我們非常樂意實現這一目標。

Perfect. Thanks all. Best of luck.

完美的。謝謝大家。祝你好運。

Thanks Ryan Brian.

謝謝 Ryan Brian。

Tommy Moll, Stephens.

湯米·莫爾，史蒂芬斯。

Good morning and thank you for taking my questions.

早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。

Good morning, Tommy.

早安，湯米。

I wanted to ask about some of the seller effectiveness KPIs that you updated us on today. customer touches sales per rep per day both moved up significantly this quarter. What's behind those inflections? And what inning are we in, in terms of some of the operational changes that you've made and the improvement that they can drive going forward? .

我想詢問一下您今天向我們更新的一些銷售人員效率 KPI。本季客戶接觸量和每位銷售代表每天的銷售額均大幅上升。這些變化的背後是什麼？就您所做的一些營運變革以及這些變革未來所能帶來的改進而言，我們處於什麼階段？。

Yes, absolutely. So we're in the I'd say we were in about the third inning. So we've got taken the first steps, and I'm really excited about -- join the team to take the next steps we have a sales management process in place now that looks at a whole range of leading and lagging indicators, and that is different by role and by level.

是的，絕對是。所以我想說我們處於第三局左右。因此，我們已經邁出了第一步，我對此感到非常興奮——加入團隊，採取下一步行動，我們現在有一個銷售管理流程，可以查看一系列領先和滯後指標，並且根據角色和級別而有所不同。

If you boil it up, the two things that we look at are how often are we in front of the customer as a leading indicator, we need to be on the plant floor in order to drive growth. And then we're measuring sales per rep per day. So we'll continue. I I believe sales is a science. There are fundamentals that need to be in place. We've taken the first step, which is really around good territory design. We have to make sure our sellers are pointed at the right potential, and we'll continue to optimize as we move forward.

如果你把它概括起來，我們關注的兩件事是：我們多久出現在客戶面前一次作為領先指標，我們需要在工廠車間來推動成長。然後我們衡量每個銷售代表每天的銷售量。所以我們會繼續。我相信銷售是一門科學。有一些基本原則需要落實到位。我們已經邁出了第一步，這實際上是圍繞著良好的領土設計。我們必須確保我們的賣家擁有正確的潛力，並且我們將在前進的過程中不斷優化。

I wanted to follow up with a question on macro. Erik, I'm looking back at some of your comments. I think you talked about some of your verticals you're seeing some firming up, maybe even some pockets of improvement. It's hard to parse though because clearly, you have some internal initiatives that are helping on the core customer side that may not apply ex MSC.

我想繼續問一個關於宏觀的問題。艾瑞克，我正在回顧你的一些評論。我認為您談到了一些垂直領域，您看到它們正在加強，甚至可能有一些改進。但這很難分析，因為很明顯，您有一些內部舉措正在幫助核心客戶方面，但可能不適用於 MSC。

And if we look at the national account data, down again quarter over quarter. And I think the comment there was that's primarily a macro phenomenon. So there's a lot of speculation in the market about where we have potential for some kind of short-cycle recovery. I'm just curious on your thoughts about how we can parse the results today and better understand the macro environment. Basically, the question is, how much of this is self-help where you're clearly benefiting versus a broader macro, where there's still some acute challenges.

如果我們查看國家帳戶數據，就會發現季度環比再次下降。我認為那裡的評論主要是一種宏觀現象。因此，市場上有很多關於我們哪裡有可能出現某種短週期復甦的猜測。我只是好奇您對我們如何分析今天的結果並更好地了解宏觀環境的看法。基本上，問題在於，其中有多少是自助措施，您明顯從中受益，而從更廣泛的宏觀角度來看，仍然存在一些嚴峻的挑戰。

Yes, Tommy, it's a really good question in a very murky environment. I think the headlines that we were trying to get across this morning are a couple. One is, I would say, I wouldn't necessarily call things firming up, but we have pockets and end markets that are meaningful to us that we would refer to as stabilizing. So take heavy machinery and equipment, ag-related end markets where things have been really soft for the last couple of years. And it's not like things have inflected that much positively, but they're at least stable.

是的，湯米，在非常模糊的環境中，這是一個非常好的問題。我認為我們今天早上試圖傳達的標題是幾個。首先，我想說，我不一定會說事情正在好轉，但我們有一些對我們來說很有意義的領域和終端市場，我們稱之為穩定。以重型機械和設備以及農業相關的終端市場為例，過去幾年市場一直非常疲軟。雖然情況並沒有發生太大的正面變化，但至少是穩定的。

So that, in a sense, is up from where we've been. What I would say is you then have pockets, Tommy, of, look, there continue to be pockets of strong growth, i.e., aerospace but also there remains some pockets of acute softness. So a great example of that. I actually think you called this out in your note, is heavy truck. That would be an example of an end market that when we talk about the influence on our national accounts program would be weighing us down. So as it relates to national accounts.

因此，從某種意義上來說，這比我們之前的水平有所提高。我想說的是，湯米，你看，有一些領域繼續保持強勁增長，比如航空航天，但也有一些領域表現非常疲軟。這是一個很好的例子。我確實認為您在筆記中提到了這一點，那就是重型卡車。這就是終端市場的一個例子，當我們談論它對我們的國民帳戶計劃的影響時，它會給我們帶來壓力。因此它與國民帳有關。

I would say we're seeing some encouraging signs here in September and October. We definitely so the numbers we shared slightly down year on year for have turned positive in September and October thus far. You can imagine October, especially with public sector moving from healthy positive to negative with the shutdown, core and national accounts actually are doing better and better.

我想說我們在九月和十月看到了一些令人鼓舞的跡象。可以肯定的是，我們分享的數字與去年同期相比略有下降，但到目前為止，9 月和 10 月的數字已經轉為正值。你可以想像十月份，特別是隨著公共部門因關閉而從健康的積極轉為消極，核心和國民賬戶實際上表現越來越好。

So I think that's turning. But overall, stable look, an overhang of uncertainty that's there. If you're trying to parse out how much of this is macro versus micro, there's probably some of both going on, Tommy. I would say, hopefully, you could hear in our prepared remarks, we're encouraged by what's happening in the core customer and particularly is probably more self-help and micro than it is macro.

所以我認為這正在轉變。但總體而言，看起來穩定，但也存在不確定性。如果你想分析這其中有多少是宏觀的，有多少是微觀的，那麼可能兩者都有，湯米。我想說，希望您能從我們準備好的發言中聽到，我們對核心客戶正在發生的事情感到鼓舞，特別是可能更多的是自助和微觀的，而不是宏觀的。

Obviously, there's a little bit of price benefit, too. But clearly, when we track back the inflection in the improvements, they do go right back to the initiatives that we've been talking about now and what got put in place sort of midway through our fiscal year with the website upgrades and marketing. So I think that part of it is a good deal of self-help. And then I described the rest as stabilizing with still an overhang of uncertainty.

顯然，價格上也有一點優勢。但顯然，當我們追溯改進的轉折點時，它們確實回到了我們現在一直在談論的舉措，以及在我們的財政年度中期通過網站升級和營銷實施的舉措。所以我認為這部分是很好的自助措施。然後我將其餘部分描述為穩定，但仍然存在不確定性。

And Tommy, maybe where you can see a little bit of that self-help if you think about the core customer consecutive months of year over year growth. And then you look at the MBI, it still remains below 50. So that's starting to break that trend a little bit might show some of that self-help and that shining through.

湯米，如果你考慮核心客戶連續幾個月同比成長，也許你會看到一點自助的跡象。然後你看看 MBI，它仍然低於 50。因此，這開始稍微打破了這種趨勢，可能會顯示出一些自助和閃光點。

Thank you both for the insight. I'll turn it back.

謝謝你們兩位的見解。我會把它轉回去。

Chris Dankert, Loop Capital Markets.

Chris Dankert，Loop 資本市場。

Hey morning. I guess I just have the congratulations to both Erik and Martina here. I guess, Martina, on your comments around the level of price increases we've taken here being on par with 2022, I guess, does that imply that we're talking about 5 points or more of pricing in 2026. Can you kind of give us some context for how we think about pricing into the new year?

嘿，早安。我想我只是在這裡向艾瑞克和瑪蒂娜表示祝賀。我想，Martina，關於您所評論的我們這裡的價格上漲水平與 2022 年持平，我想，這是否意味著我們談論的是 2026 年 5 個點或更多的定價。您能否向我們介紹一下我們對新一年定價的看法？

Yes, I think it's so uncertain. I don't know that I can give you a good answer on that. I think we our intention is obviously to meet the inflation as it comes. I think we've done that now with our actions in Q1 but it's so uncertain, I really I don't know what to tell you.

是的，我認為這很不確定。我不知道我能否給你一個很好的答案。我認為我們的目的顯然是應對通貨膨脹。我認為我們在第一季採取的行動已經做到了這一點，但情況非常不確定，我真的不知道該告訴你什麼。

And Chris, what I would say is if you think about where we the price increase we put at the end of June, low single-digit range, we talked about another low single-digit increase in in 1Q. So if you assume 1.5%, 2%, you're in that 4% range. And as we said, we'll make additional pricing moves as warranted. .

克里斯，我想說的是，如果你想想我們在 6 月底的價格漲幅，是低個位數範圍，我們談到了第一季的另一個低個位數成長。因此，如果您假設 1.5%、2%，那麼您就處於 4% 的範圍內。正如我們所說，我們將根據需要採取額外的定價措施。。

Got it. That color that's really helpful. And then I guess just on the kind of $30 million to $40-ish million of SG&A growth in the new year, and again, obviously, that's something to change, but does that assume digital investment and marketing investment are kind of leveling off here? Maybe kind of walk through some of the components of what you're thinking about for SG&A growth?

知道了。那個顏色確實很有用。然後我猜新的一年銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 成長將達到 3,000 萬到 4,000 萬美元左右，顯然，這會發生改變，但這是否意味著數位投資和行銷投資在這裡趨於平穩？也許您可以稍微介紹一下您對銷售、一般和行政費用成長的一些考慮因素？

Yes, Chris, so when Ryan referenced that, that sort of ties back to the idea of how we get to a roughly 20% incremental margin and mid-single-digit growth. And really, what that's reflective of is the variable expense to service the growth, the normal inflation we experienced in the business, the investment spending that we do and then offset by the productivity that Martina is driving through the business. It does.

是的，克里斯，所以當瑞安提到這一點時，這與我們如何實現大約 20% 的增量利潤率和中等個位數成長的想法有關。實際上，這反映的是為實現成長而產生的變動費用、我們在業務中經歷的正常通貨膨脹、我們的投資支出，然後被 Martina 透過業務推動的生產力所抵消。確實如此。

So there are certain pockets of investments that we'll be leveling. So e-commerce is a good example of that, although we are we talked about a DNA step-up, that's part of it is our digital investments that are now value and improving core customer growth. I will call out, Martina mentioned in Q1, part of the OpEx build is a step-up in marketing expense so that would be an area where we're actually increasing investment, and we're doing it because we like the returns that we're seeing, quite frankly, it's part of the driver behind core customers. So as Martina mentioned, we're channeling those investments where we're seeing the highest return.

因此，我們將平衡某些領域的投資。因此，電子商務就是一個很好的例子，儘管我們談論的是 DNA 升級，但其中一部分是我們的數位投資現在具有價值並改善了核心客戶的成長。我要說的是，Martina 在第一季提到，營運支出的一部分是行銷費用的增加，因此這是我們實際上增加投資的一個領域，我們這樣做是因為我們喜歡我們看到的回報，坦白說，這是核心客戶背後的驅動力的一部分。正如 Martina 所提到的，我們將這些投資引導到回報最高的地方。

Understood. Well, thanks so much for the call there guys.

明白了。好吧，非常感謝你們的來電。

Ken Newman, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

肯‧紐曼 (Ken Newman)，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Hey, good morning, this is Katie on for Ken. I wanted to dig in a little bit more on the supplier price notifications. What's the risk that it's more difficult to pass these on to customers as we go through the year, especially if they accelerate, like I know tungsten prices are up a lot year-to-date. Just curious how you're thinking about that in the context of further increases from your suppliers?

嘿，早安，我是凱蒂，為肯播報。我想更深入地了解供應商價格通知。隨著時間的流逝，將這些成本轉嫁給客戶會變得更加困難，這會帶來什麼風險呢？特別是如果成本加速上漲的話，就像我知道鎢價今年迄今已經上漲了很多。我只是好奇，在供應商進一步加價的情況下，您是如何考慮這個問題的？

Yes. Thanks, Katie. So far, we have been really pleased with the price realization. So I'm not I'm not worried that we're going to be able to pass it on in a constructive way with our customers. We're obviously working with them always to optimize their costs as part of our technical value proposition, and I think we're in a great place right now. So we were happy with price realization, and we continue to be we do see more inflation coming, obviously, and it is it will put pressure on us. But that part of the equation, I'm not worried about.

是的。謝謝，凱蒂。到目前為止，我們對價格的實現感到非常滿意。所以我並不擔心我們能否以建設性的方式將其傳遞給我們的客戶。顯然，我們一直在與他們合作，以優化他們的成本，作為我們技術價值主張的一部分，我認為我們現在處於一個很好的位置。因此，我們對價格實現感到滿意，而且我們確實看到通貨膨脹進一步加劇，這顯然會給我們帶來壓力。但我並不擔心這個等式的這一部分。

And maybe I'll just chime in Katie, funny, you mentioned one of the raw materials that obviously, we're keeping our eye on and we're hearing about from suppliers in tungsten. So's it's almost like there's a knock-on effect here from the tariffs which is out of the gate, what we've been experiencing from our suppliers is direct tariff-related inflation, and we do see bubbling, the knock-on effect being impacts on certain raw materials that are drivers of the products that we sell.

也許我應該插嘴一下，凱蒂，有趣的是，你提到了一種原材料，顯然我們正在關注這種原材料，我們也從鎢供應商那裡聽說了這種原材料。因此，這幾乎就像關稅帶來的連鎖反應一樣，我們從供應商那裡感受到的是直接與關稅相關的通貨膨脹，我們確實看到了泡沫，連鎖反應對某些原材料產生了影響，而這些原材料是我們銷售產品的驅動力。

So tungsten is a great example for cutting tools. As Martina said, our experience with price realization has actually been quite good. Should there be further inflation? If tungsten pricing sustains, I think you're right, we would expect more pricing from suppliers, it's an unknown. But if it does, we would and we'd expect to pass it along. One of the things we tried to highlight in the prepared remarks, customers are understanding right now because the headline everything is going up.

因此，鎢是切削工具的一個很好的例子。正如 Martina 所說，我們在價格實現方面的經驗實際上相當不錯。是否應該進一步通膨？如果鎢價維持下去，我想你是對的，我們預期供應商會有更高的定價，這是一個未知數。但如果確實如此，我們會並且希望將其傳遞下去。我們在準備好的演講中試圖強調的一件事是，客戶現在能夠理解，因為頭條新聞是一切都在上漲。

The key is, number one, we have to be transparent about it, which is why Martina and team made the choice to stick with our pricing cadence and not react in Q4, being clear and transparent. And the other is the other side of the conversation is how are we as a distributor, bringing productivity to our customers. And that's something that's right in our sweet spot.

關鍵是，首先，我們必須對此保持透明，這就是為什麼 Martina 和團隊選擇堅持我們的定價節奏，而不是在第四季度做出反應，保持清晰和透明。另一個主題是，作為經銷商，我們如何為客戶帶來生產力。這正是我們最滿意的地方。

So for all those reasons, if the inflation does sustain in this uncertain world, we do feel confident in the ability to pass it along.

因此，基於所有這些原因，如果通貨膨脹在這個不確定的世界中確實持續下去，我們確實有信心將其傳遞下去。

Great. That's really helpful color. My follow-up is regarding the government shutdown. How do we think about any impact year-to-date from this? I know the lower end of your guide implies that it should last through the remainder of 1Q. But any way to think about what you've seen year-to-date within the business?

偉大的。這顏色確實很有幫助。我的後續問題是關於政府關門。我們如何看待這件事對今年迄今的影響？我知道您的指南的下限意味著它應該會持續到第一季的剩餘時間。但是，您如何看待今年迄今為止的業務情況？

Yes. I'm sorry, you broke up in the middle, Katie, but I think you're asking how do we see the government shutdown impacting the business? What are we forecasting? So we had as you heard in the prepared remarks, we had a very strong fourth quarter in the public sector, and that growth continued into September. We've seen some softening now with the shutdown. That will have a positive a small positive mix effect. We don't expect that to be more than about 10 basis on our margin.

是的。抱歉，凱蒂，你中途分手了，但我想你是想問我們如何看待政府關門對企業的影響？我們預測什麼？正如您在準備好的發言中所聽到的，我們公共部門在第四季度表現非常強勁，並且這種增長一直持續到 9 月。隨著關閉，我們已經看到一些緩和的跡象。這將產生正面的、輕微的正面混合效應。我們預計該比例不會超過我們保證金的 10%。

And the outlook that we gave really is predicated on both ends of the scenario. So the high end of our growth range if the shutdown ends and the low end of our growth rate if the shutdown continues to the end of the quarter.

我們給出的展望其實是基於情境的兩端。因此，如果停擺結束，我們的成長率就會處於高端；如果停擺持續到本季末，我們的成長率就會處於低端。

And then, Katie, the additional color I'll add there is just who knows when the shutdown is. But one thing we can be pretty sure at some point, it will end. And as I look back on my career in some of my recent years here, one of the things really proud of is the performance of the public sector team. I mean, they continue to deliver and to outgrow markets and to take market share. And we don't see any of that changing. Obviously, Martina mentioned, we went from double-digit growth in September to negative in October.

然後，凱蒂，我要添加的額外顏色是誰知道什麼時候關閉。但有一件事我們可以肯定，在某個時候，它會結束。當我回顧我最近幾年的職業生涯時，我真正感到自豪的事情之一就是公共部門團隊的表現。我的意思是，他們繼續交付產品、超越市場並佔領市場份額。我們沒有看到任何變化。顯然，Martina 提到，我們的成長從 9 月的兩位數下降到了 10 月的負數。

That's just a reduction in spend. So the exciting thing for us is, at some point, that restores. We expect our share capture to continue. And then if our momentum in core and national accounts continue and public sector goes back to doing what they've been doing for a while, it creates a potentially encouraging picture.

這只是減少開支而已。因此，對我們來說令人興奮的是，在某個時候，它會恢復。我們預計我們的市場份額將繼續保持成長。如果我們的核心帳戶和國民帳戶能夠繼續保持成長勢頭，並且公共部門能夠恢復到他們一直以來的做法，那麼這將創造出一幅令人鼓舞的景象。

Great, thanks for the caller.

太好了，謝謝來電者。

Patrick Baumann, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的派崔克‧鮑曼。

Oh, hi, thanks for taking my questions. I'll echo comments from others, congrats Martina on the new role. And good luck, Erik, it's been great working with you over the years. I appreciate all the help. So on the OpEx side, maybe I missed this, but it looks like the head count that you report in the earnings deck came down a bit at year-end. Just wondering what drove that?

哦，嗨，謝謝你回答我的問題。我同意其他人的評論，並祝賀 Martina 獲得新職位。祝你好運，埃里克，這些年來和你合作得很愉快。我感謝所有的幫助。因此，在營運支出方面，也許我錯過了這一點，但看起來您在收益報告中報告的員工人數在年底有所下降。只是想知道是什麼導致了這種情況？

And then what's the outlook for head count in, I guess, fiscal '26. And then on the marketing side, wondering if you could give some perspective on where your spend levels are today and where you think you might need to take that to sustain better results that you're seeing currently in the core?

那我猜 26 財年的員工人數前景如何？然後在行銷方面，想知道您是否可以談談您目前的支出水平，以及您認為可能需要採取哪些措施來維持目前在核心領域看到的更好的結果？

Okay. Thanks, Patrick. I'll take the head count piece. So our cost structure is too high right now for the size of our business. So obviously, the best and the highest way to remedy that is for us to accelerate growth, and we're at full speed ahead on those initiatives. But in the meantime, we're taking a look at how we perform work, and we're taking a look at performance.

好的。謝謝，派崔克。我將負責人數統計。因此，就我們的業務規模而言，目前我們的成本結構太高了。因此，顯然，解決這個問題的最佳和最高方法是加速成長，我們正全速推進這些舉措。但同時，我們正在審視我們的工作表現，並專注於績效。

And so what you see in those head count numbers are two sets of actions. One of them was a reduction force in our sales force. I believe strongly that we owe our sellers good territory design. So we point them at the right potential we owe them a strong sales management process with clear expectations and good coaching and when you put those two in place, you can fairly and quickly assess performance.

因此，您在這些人數數字中看到的是兩組行動。其中之一就是裁減我們的銷售團隊。我堅信，我們有責任為賣家提供良好的區域設計。因此，我們向他們指出了正確的潛力，我們欠他們一個強大的銷售管理流程，明確的期望和良好的指導，當你將這兩者落實到位時，你就可以公平、快速地評估績效。

So we took out our underperformers and our sales territory optimization, just moved right in. And that's why in the prepared remarks, we told you we're actually covering more customers more effectively with fewer people. I'm very happy about that. And then on the other side of the business, which is the rest of the head count change, we have an operating system, same thing. We're setting clear expectations. We know how to measure performance, and we action. Asking me about head count for the rest of the year. I mean, we will continue to self-help, and we'll continue to look at our processes as we go forward.

因此，我們剔除了表現不佳的員工，並優化了銷售區域，直接進入市場。這就是為什麼我們在準備好的發言中告訴你們，我們實際上是用更少的人更有效地覆蓋更多的客戶。我對此感到非常高興。然後在業務的另一端，也就是其餘的員工人數變化，我們有一個作業系統，同樣的事情。我們設定了明確的期望。我們知道如何衡量績效，並且我們採取行動。詢問我今年剩餘時間的人數。我的意思是，我們將繼續自助，並將繼續審視我們前進的進程。

And then maybe Yes, I'll take the marketing, Pat. So what I'd say there is we're at our Q1 levels, obviously, we're going to be at a level that's up from where we were running in fiscal '25. And Hard to say, to give you a clear outlook. And the reason it's hard to say is our investment in marketing, the beauty about the way we're investing, number one, it's been a driver of the core customer we see the return profile on our investments relatively quickly.

然後也許是的，我會負責行銷，帕特。所以我想說的是，我們目前處於第一季的水平，顯然，我們將達到比 25 財年更高的水平。很難說，給你一個清晰的觀點。很難說的原因在於我們在行銷方面的投資，我們投資方式的美妙之處在於，首先，它一直是核心客戶的驅動力，我們可以相對較快地看到投資的回報情況。

And so that number will be fluid based upon the returns that we see. So put another way, if we continue to see the returns in the form of improving growth rates with core customers, will continue to ratchet up marketing. And if for some reason, those returns subside, you'd see us tone it down. But either way, it would be captured in our outlook on incremental margins.

因此，這個數字將根據我們看到的回報而變化。換句話說，如果我們繼續看到核心客戶成長率提高帶來的回報，我們將繼續加強行銷。如果由於某種原因，這些回報減少，你會看到我們降低迴報。但無論如何，它都會體現在我們對增量利潤的展望中。

Got it. And then a couple of cleanups. Just a follow-up on the government shutdown impact. Can you remind me like your federal exposure? I didn't think you had like a big exposure to federal government. So I'm just wondering why you saw the slowdown in sales in public sector from, I think you said double digit to negative in the October period.

知道了。然後進行幾次清理。這只是對政府關門影響的後續關注。你能提醒我一下你的聯邦曝光度嗎？我認為你對聯邦政府的了解並不多。所以我只是想知道為什麼您看到公共部門的銷售額從兩位數放緩到十月份的負數。

Yes, Pat, our government exposure is about 2/3 of federal and more weighted towards military and defense, just to give you some color around that.

是的，帕特，我們的政府曝光度大約佔聯邦政府的 2/3，並且更側重於軍事和防禦，只是為了給你一些關於這方面的情況。

So are you seeing pullback in military like where in federal are you seeing pullback.

那麼，您是否看到軍隊的撤軍，就像您看到聯邦政府的撤軍一樣。

We're seeing so the pullback from September to October was pretty much all in federal, Pat. And what I would say, it was not I mean I won't get too specific here. It was not across the board. But there were pockets the negative in October is an average across our roughly if we're a 10% public sector, I'm rounding here, but around 7% being federal. It wasn't down consistently across the board, but we saw pockets of federal that are off like 50%, 60%, where there's clearly no sign of market share loss. So yes, we did see a pretty quick drop. And look, again, at some point, that's going to reverse end and reverse.

我們看到，9 月至 10 月的撤軍幾乎全部來自聯邦政府，帕特。我想說的是，我的意思不是在這裡說得太具體。這並不是全面的。但是，10 月的負成長是總體的平均值，如果我們是 10% 的公共部門，我在這裡四捨五入，但聯邦政府的負成長大約是 7%。雖然並非全盤持續下降，但我們看到部分聯邦政府部門的市佔率下降了 50%、60%，但顯然沒有市佔率損失的跡象。是的，我們確實看到了相當快速的下降。再看看，在某個時刻，這將會逆轉結束並逆轉。

Yes. That makes sense. And then last cleanup, just on price. Can you give any color on any particular product categories that stand out in terms of the increases you're taking, whether it's are you seeing more inflation in metal working in certain MRO products and exclusive brands? Any color on the pace of price inflation among those different categories.

是的。這很有道理。然後進行最後一次清理，僅考慮價格。您能否詳細說明一下在價格上漲方面表現突出的特定產品類別，您是否看到某些 MRO 產品和獨家品牌的金屬加工價格上漲？這些不同類別的物價通膨速度有何不同？

Yes, Pat, I would say it wouldn't be shocking to you as to where basically the more you get to things that come out of China and the more you get to things that are made of steel the more inflation we're seeing. So for instance, fasteners and our OEM business are seeing really high levels of inflation. Some categories like safety, if we've done a lot of sourcing Asian sourcing, China sourcing, we'd be seeing it.

是的，帕特，我想說這對你來說並不令人震驚，基本上你購買的中國產品越多，鋼鐵製品越多，我們看到的通貨膨脹就越嚴重。例如，緊固件和我們的 OEM 業務正經歷著非常高的通貨膨脹水準。對於某些類別，例如安全，如果我們做過大量的亞洲採購、中國採購，我們就會看到它。

So it wouldn't surprise you. Interestingly, some, of course, in our private brands. But remember, one of the things that we've been talking about, a good percentage of our private brands particularly in cutting tools are made in USA. So those have been shielded and that's been another kind of quiver in our marketing arsenal, if you will, is focused on our maiden USA offering. But it wouldn't be shocking where we're seeing the increases.

所以你不會感到驚訝。有趣的是，當然有些是我們的自有品牌。但請記住，我們一直在談論的事情之一是，我們的很大一部分自有品牌，特別是切削工具，都是在美國製造的。因此，這些都得到了保護，這是我們行銷武器庫中的另一種手段，如果你願意的話，它主要集中在我們首次在美國推出的產品上。但我們看到這種成長並不令人震驚。

Okay, thanks a lot. I appreciate the time.

好的，非常感謝。我很感激你抽出時間。

David Manthey, Baird.

大衛‧曼西，貝爾德。

Yeah, thank you. Good morning, everyone, and congratulations to Martina. Erik I'll for my fair well I see you in Chicago in a few weeks here. Yes. So my first question is, you mentioned direct ship orders. And I guess, I'm just trying to get a read on what percentage of your sales does that represent today? And maybe if you could outline the types of products that are primarily affected by direct ship.

是的，謝謝。大家早安，恭喜 Martina。艾瑞克，為了我好，幾週後我會在芝加哥見到你。是的。所以我的第一個問題是，您提到了直接出貨訂單。我想，我只是想了解一下這佔您今天的銷售額的百分之多少？也許您可以概述一下主要受直接運送影響的產品類型。

Yes, Dave, I'll take it. So we don't really break out specifically direct ship orders as a percentage of sales. I'll tell you it is the minority but particularly, it's grown in recent years as we've penetrated customers more and more. whether it's our implant program, whether it's some of our public sector relationships where we're doing more and more sourcing and value add for a customer. So typically, as those programs ebb and flow, so goes our direct ship volume.

是的，戴夫，我會接受的。因此，我們實際上並沒有具體列出直接發貨訂單佔銷售額的百分比。我會告訴你這是少數，但特別是近年來，隨著我們越來越多地滲透到客戶中，它有所增長。無論是我們的植入計劃，還是我們的一些公共部門關係，我們都在為客戶進行越來越多的採購和增值。因此，通常情況下，隨著這些計劃的起伏，我們的直接運輸量也會隨之變化。

So I don't think there's anything sort of structural systemic that I call out, like if you're looking forward, is something to note as a major headwind or tailwind, but we did see and look, the team mentioned that sequentially from Q3 to Q4, our public sector business was up considerably. There's a correlation there.

因此，我認為我所說的結構性系統性問題並不重要，如果你展望未來，你會發現這是一個重大的逆風或順風，但我們確實看到，團隊提到，從第三季度到第四季度，我們的公共部門業務連續大幅增長。這其中存在著關聯。

So when it comes in the form of public sector, you can imagine it's a lot of MRO product. more so than metalworking. And so that's a little color. But I wouldn't make that much of it for the future, but it did we brought it up because it was a piece of the 50 basis point gap versus where we thought it was a piece of the story.

因此，當它以公共部門的形式出現時，你可以想像它是大量的 MRO 產品，比金屬加工還要多。這就是一點顏色。但我不會對未來做太多的評估，但我們確實提出這一點，因為這是 50 個基點差距的一部分，而我們認為這是故事的一部分。

Okay. But it sounds like it's measurable. And if you're saying it's driven by government and implant or things like that, it does sound like we should see that continue to at least gradually move up over time, right? .

好的。但聽起來它是可以衡量的。如果你說這是由政府和植入物或諸如此類的東西推動的，聽起來我們應該看到它隨著時間的推移至少繼續逐漸上升，對嗎？。

Yes, I guess, I mean, it has been certainly. But the one thing I would say to counter it is, remember, this is really if I look back over the past few years, you've had areas like implant and public sector growing and core or at least core growing at less than the company average. So counterbalancing would be if the traction we're seeing on the core customer continues, that would be somewhat of an offset.

是的，我想，我的意思是，確實如此。但我要反駁的一點是，請記住，如果我回顧過去幾年，你會發現植入物和公共部門等領域正在成長，而核心或至少核心領域的成長低於公司平均水平。因此，如果我們看到核心客戶繼續受到青睞，那麼就會產生某種抵消作用。

And Dave, if you're getting if I think what you're getting at, I don't think you would hear us call out the rec ship going forward when it comes to our gross margin performance.

戴夫，如果你明白我的意思，那麼當談到我們的毛利率表現時，我想你不會聽到我們呼籲娛樂船繼續前進。

Okay. Fair enough. And then second, reshoring, are you seeing any benefits for reshoring at this point? And when you talk to your core metalworking job shops, are they relaying any optimism on that front? Or it's still vaporware at this point? .

好的。很公平。其次，回流，您現在看到回流有什麼好處嗎？當您與核心金屬加工車間交談時，他們是否對此表達了樂觀的態度？或者它現在仍然只是空談？。

So I would say if Dave, if the definition of reshoring is new plant build out, we're not seeing it. If the definition of reassuring is an existing global manufacturer that has capacity in multiple locations inclusive of the US shifting manufacturing to the US that we are there's tangible data points there, some of which were releases, I think, this week and last week. So that we're seeing, we're not seeing new greenfield build out.

所以我想說，戴夫，如果回流的定義是新建工廠，那麼我們就不會看到它。如果令人放心的定義是現有的全球製造商在包括美國在內的多個地區擁有產能，並將製造業轉移到美國，那麼我們就有切實的數據點，其中一些是本周和上週發布的。因此，我們看到，我們沒有看到新的綠地建設。

Right. Yes, I was thinking that if not necessarily that you're selling directly to that factory that's reshoring or expanding in the US, but your machine shops and the metalworking job shops might be seeing an increase in business as they're selling more product to domestic manufacturers. But yes, I don't know, I was just seeing if you're hearing anything along those lines.

正確的。是的，我在想，即使你不一定直接向在美國回流或擴張的工廠銷售產品，但你的機械車間和金屬加工車間的業務可能會有所增長，因為他們向國內製造商銷售了更多的產品。但是的，我不知道，我只是想看看你是否聽到了類似的話。

I don't think we're seeing it like we're not seeing it in the numbers yet. I would say that there is there does remain some optimism about more production coming to the US though. That headline is still there, right.

我認為我們還沒有看到它，就像我們還沒有在數字中看到它一樣。我想說的是，人們對更多產品進入美國仍然抱持樂觀態度。那個標題還在那裡，對吧。

Dave, I think about areas about auto. You heard some from some releases this week shifting more capacity manufacturing capacity into the US I think as that comes to fruition, you'll start to hear some of that optimism trickle through into the job machine shops.

戴夫，我考慮的是與汽車有關的領域。您本週聽到一些消息稱，將更多的產能轉移到美國，我認為，隨著這項計畫的實施，您將開始聽到一些樂觀情緒滲透到機械車間。

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session, and I will now turn the call over to Ryan Mills for closing remarks.

問答環節已經結束，現在我將把發言權交給瑞安·米爾斯 (Ryan Mills) 作結束語。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's call. Our next earnings call will be on January 7. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you all at upcoming investor conferences. Have a good day. Bye.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我們的下一次財報電話會議將於 1 月 7 日舉行。同時，我們期待在即將召開的投資者會議上見到大家。祝你有美好的一天。再見。

This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束，大家可以斷開連線了。感謝您的參與。